A variety of medical applications require the use of non-disposable devices, such as medical probes, scopes, and cameras, which may be difficult to fully sterilize, or which may malfunction, if exposed directly to bodily tissues or fluids. One such device is an ultrasound device, which tends also to possess a physical connection by way of a wire, cable, or flexible tube to a base station which processes a signal delivered along the wire. Many other electronic instruments in such fields as medicine, veterinary medicine, and dentistry possess similar connections.
Existing methods of protecting such instruments from contamination with bodily fluids include the use of protective covers, such as those described in U.S. Pat. No. 7,665,893, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,795,632. These above-cited references have been assigned to the same assignee and are incorporated by reference in their entirety. However, such protective covers provide limited protection to the device and patient when the device possesses a cord.